Family
by ScrambledEggHeaded
Summary: Ellie and Joel got separated. Ellie is utterly lost in the city, searching for him as she stumbles upon another survivor.


"Damn it, where are you, Joel?", she cursed quietly. They had run into a pack of hunters the other day and in the maze of the ruined rooms in that hotel had managed to lose each other. It had been impossible for her to go back and search for Joel, she had to keep moving if she didn't want the hunters to find her out first.  
She had walked for about four hours until she was sure to be well out of the hunters' grounds. She decided to wait in an old cafe right on central street, near a big square. She would be well hidden here, even had some supplies left that would last her a couple of days if it came to it and above all could keep a good look on the outside for Joel. Ellie cursed herself for never having agreed on a place where they would meet up in cases like this. She just hoped he'd pass this square sooner or later, looking for her. He surely wouldn't abandon her, would he?  
"No", she thought. "He wants those weapons Marlene has promised him. He'll be back looking for me." It wasn't much, but she was clinging onto this thought for now. The other option would be that Joel lay dead somewhere in that hotel, killed by the hunters.  
She shook her head. This sort of thinking didn't help her much right now. She would sit it out and wait for a few days, if he didn't show up then... she'd have to come up with a plan B.

Taking another look around the cafe she found a door she had previously missed that was covered by some stacked up tables and a rotting piece of linen. With some effort Ellie moved the tables out of the way, cautiously turning the door knob. Darkness. She turned on the flashlight strapped to her backpack. She couldn't believe what she saw. Shelves were lined up against the walls, filled with cans and bags of goods. Mostly food, but she also spotted some other things that could come in handy if you wanted to make some weapons, as well as some medicine. "Holy shit", she muttered as she entered the windowless room. She had never seen this much food in one place, not even the storage rooms she had once caught a look at in QZ had held this much.  
Without thinking she grabbed some of the plastic bags of beef jerky (even a bag of cookies!) and some smaller cans of fruit and vegetable and stuffed them in her backpack. As she knelt down, zipping up the bag a thought occurred to her. This clearly had to belong to someone. Someone who'd come by here regularly to get some of their supplies. She quickly scanned the shelves for anything else she could use and that would not be too heavy and grabbed some aspirins and disinfectant bottles before leaving the room in a hurry. She quickly put the tables up against the door so no one would notice she'd been here.  
She ducked behind the cashier counter, careful not to step on the broken china on the floor and looked around. Everything seemed to be quiet.

Sneaking out a backdoor Ellie cautiously made her way back to the square. Maybe she could find some other place here in one of the top floors where she could hide in. Or if she could get up on one of the roofs of these buildings she could maybe even oversee a large enough area to spot Joel.  
With a small sprint Ellie ducked behind the ridiculously oversized flowerpots that were strewn across the square. Had she heard steps or was that just some kind of fucked up echo-effect of the buildings?  
Holding her breath she listened intently. No. There were quiet steps coming from across the empty square. A slender figure came walking around a corner. It was a man, judging from his features he couldn't be much older than twenty maybe. He had a small animal on a leash and was talking to it quietly now.

If that pet of his was a dog it would be pretty damn useless, Ellie thought as she watched the man walk towards the cafe. Relief flooded her that she had been smart enough to get out of there in time.  
What now? She would wait until he entered the cafe and then would make her way to that large building she could see looming behind the city square. She didn't know her way around here and Joel had been the one with a map and the plan so it didn't really matter where she went. But she had a feeling Joel would also look for something that would be an easy landmark to see. This was the best option. As long as she avoided other people on the streets. And infected. She prayed there were no infected.  
She hadn't want to show it to Joel and Tess but she was scared more than anything about having to face any of these monsters by herself. The night she had got bitten, running from those clickers still haunted her in her sleep.  
The man had disappeared into the building. Time to run.  
She kept close to the ruined fronts of the stores that lined the square, slipping through a broken window here and there, leaving through back doors of the abandoned shops.  
She reached the small side alley that led away from the square. She looked back, still no one in sight. Good.

With beating heart she jogged down the street, towards the tall building in front of her. It couldn't be more than two blocks away. A hard push hit her in the side and she fell onto the concrete ground.  
She had her knife in hand before she even made an attempt to get up. Instead of angry shouting or worse, insane screaming she heard a voice frantically muttering apologies to her.  
"Oh god, I am so sorry. I'm really sorry. I thought you were one of them hunters. I'm so sorry."  
It was the young man. How the hell he'd gotten here so fast was beyond Ellie.  
She didn't care, all she cared about was that currently he did not seem to want to bash her head in.  
"Here lemme help you up", he said, even smiling apologetically. After a short moment of consideration, Ellie took his hand and pulled herself up.  
"I really am sorry", he said again. Ellie took a couple of steps back from him. "That's alright", she said dusting herself off. "Happy you didn't shoot me."  
"Oh good lord, no. I don't even have a gun with me." His accent was odd, it sounded faintly like Joel's way of speaking with the odd stretches here and there but that guy with his squeaky voice wasn't anything like Joel. Joel also didn't talk that much. "Do you live 'round here?" Ellie shook her head. "I see", the man said after a while. "Well you might wanna come along with me, it's not as safe outside these days." The man looked around nervously. Altogether he seemed to be a rather twitchy fellow.  
Ellie hesitated. If she objected too harshly he might get angry, and even if he claimed he didn't have a gun... "I-... I really should get going, I just got off course and I'm just trying to get back to my group", she lied. "Group?", the guy exclaimed excitedly. "Where're ya off to?"  
"Another Quarantine Zone. We were told to go there." Ellie was uncomfortable. The only other times she had to speak to people she didn't know had been with Marlene and then only once or twice with Joel and Tess.  
"God bless. That sounds mighty fine." Ellie frowned at the way he spoke. "Where'd you lose 'em? I can help you find your way back there, I know my way around here, ya know."  
"Umm... I can't remember. We had to flee from those hunters."  
The young man nodded sympathetically. "I see. Yeah, those hunters are giving me a lot of grief these days as well."  
"I really think I'll be fine." Ellie finally managed. "Thank you for your help though", she added a little awkwardly.  
"Oh no no. Come on, you should better wait with me here, safer this way. I'm sure your folks will come by here sooner or later."  
Ellie considered running but the guy probably wasn't lying about knowing his way around here so it was questionable how far she'd get if he did decide to come after her.  
"I know it's hard to trust people these days", he said with a sad smile. "But you can trust me. I'd be happy for a bit of company. I got some food back at my hideout, I'd be happy to share it with you."

Ellie sighed, as the man who had introduced himself as Seth had disappeared into the front part of the cafe. She was sitting on a bench in the far back of the building, a hot bowl of stew in her hands.  
She hadn't had the guts to run and finally saw no other way but to accept Seth's offer of staying with him until her "group" found her. She had felt it would sound safer if many people would be looking for her rather than one single man.  
She hadn't had warm food since she had left Boston and never this much. It was beyond Ellie how the guy managed to find so much stuff and how he could still be so fucking skinny having this much food at his dispense. (?) If she had to stay the night she would try and sneak out after Seth had fallen asleep. That was the plan.  
Forcing herself to eat slowly she savored every spoonful, tasting the vegetables, cream and bits of what seemed to be mushrooms.  
"Thanks", she said after she had finished. Seth had come back with some battered magazines and he offered one to Ellie as he took a seat in a chair opposite of her.  
"Glad you liked it." He said, a sheepish smile on his face. He was always smiling, Ellie realized.

"What are you doing here, all by yourself?", Ellie burst out.  
Seth looked up at her, confused. He seemed to have trouble understanding the question.  
"I-... I am not by myself here", he finally muttered, looking at the floor, the corners of his mouth still curled up to a smile.  
Okay, something about that smile was unsettling, Ellie decided silently. "You have some friends with you here?" He slowly nodded in response. "My family. They're not here right now, but they'll come back later tonight. I'll introduce you in the morning. I promise."  
"Alright", Ellie yawned. With her stomach so utterly full she felt drowsy. She really wouldn't mind catching some sleep now.  
"Oh, stupid me. You gotta be tired, you can take some rest and I'll keep a lookout for your folks, alright?"  
"Thanks", she managed as her lids grew heavier. She curled herself up on the bench and fell into a deep sleep.

Hectic whispering and shuffling of feet. A quiet but frantic scratching noise. Disoriented and her heart beating in her throat she wakes up. There is a rat right in front of her that is scratching the floor with its tiny claws. It is trying to run towards her but is held back by a red piece of string. Ellie shoots into an upright position. She hates rats. Holding her backpack close to her chest she gets up and backs away towards the door.  
Sleep still in her eyes she only slowly gains clear vision. As her surroundings get less blurry she sees what is wrong with the rat. It is infected.  
The eyes have long disappeared in a bloody mush and the fungus has split its skull open. It's frothing at the snout and making disgusting gargling noises.

"What the fuck...", Ellie whispers as her hand finds the door knob while still looking at the disfigured creature.

"Oh I see you've met Madison", Seth's voice comes from across the hallway.  
"Yeah", Ellie answers, trying to hide how freaked out she is. "That your family?"  
Seth walks towards her, holding the end of the red string in his hand. The rat gets closer, straining against the leash.  
"I'm not crazy, you know", he says quietly in a manner that made it rather clear he was. "She's just my pet."  
"What if she bites you?" Ellie says, still fumbling with the door as quietly as she could. She just hopes she'd be out the door before Seth can let the infected rat loose.  
"Oh she tries. But that's not her fault. She just does as nature tells her to." He pulls at the string and fastens it to the handle of a fridge. Having both of his hands free now he walks up to Ellie. He looks at her, as if suddenly remembering something. "How did you sleep?", he asks slowly. She can see something is bothering him. "Are you feeling alright?" He is too confused. His eyes betray him. Ellie understands. And she knows she is the only person he could have met where his fucked up plan could not have worked out.  
She can see he is carrying a shotgun now as well as a gas mask.  
"I feel fine, thanks for letting me stay here. Any of my people come along here?"  
Seth is silent for a while. His smile has vanished this morning.  
"I'm sorry. I haven't seen anyone." "That's okay, I think I'll just walk to the QZ by myself, it shouldn't be too far from here anyway."  
She squeezes her eyes shut for a moment, intently wishing he'll just let her off the hook with this lie.  
"Oh. Shame you should be leaving me already. But I said I'd introduce you my family before you go. Come with me." There is an edge in his voice that has Ellie freeze, unable to think of fleeing.  
"Sure", she says, the lump in her throat as big as her fist.  
"It's just outside and down the stairs", Seth says reassuringly.  
Ellie opens the door and steps outside. She swallows heavily.  
"To your right."  
Ellie takes small steps, her knees quivering as she reaches a cellar door. Seth is standing behind her and from the corner of her eye she sees he is holding the shotgun now.  
With shaking hands she pulls open the metal doors. "Go on now", Seth urges.  
There's no way out of this, Ellie realizes. If she runs now, she'll get a nice big hole in her back from Seth's gun. She slowly steps down the stairs into the dark, holding onto the railing, as she is afraid her legs might give out.  
She hears the noises get louder. A click and some bright neon light bulbs flicker to life and expose Seth's family.  
There are infected lined up against the walls of the cellar, held back by shackles and metal wires and ropes. The stench of rotting flesh and the musty powder of the spores nearly takes Ellie' breath.  
Most of the infected are clickers and strain against their shackles as they hear Ellie's steps approaching. But there are also a lot of dead ones on the floor, most of them having the cordyceps break out of their bodies, allowing the spores to erupt from them.  
"Meet my family", Seth shouts over the inhuman screeching and screaming from the infected. The clickers get even more frantic but it seems Seth has made sure they are all tightly secured to the walls.  
"You're one of a kind, little one", he says. "I gave you two bowls of my special stew and yet you're still here with me, talking and walking." His voice is so muffled he must be wearing the mask now. Which at least means he is not immune.  
She still has her feet on the stairs, not daring to put a foot on the ground, go any nearer to the raging monsters.  
"But I imagine a little kiss from my auntie here will turn you around, too. She's the one right in front of you. Go on now."  
Ellie's mind is racing. She knows she has her switchblade knife in her jeans pocket. If she manages to be faster than Seth can pull the trigger she could... a shove from the barrel of the shotgun has her stumbling down the last steps of stairs.  
She picks herself up off the ground and stares into the face of 'Auntie' who is drooling bloody spit and screeching so loudly Ellie thinks her eardrums will burst.  
Auntie stretches her messed up arms out towards her, frantically grasping, catching nothing but air.  
In a crazy moment of serenity Ellie wonders if this really had been Seth's aunt and he just couldn't bear to let her go. Or if he just kept collecting random strangers and infected them on purpose so they'd stay with him.  
It doesn't matter though, either way he is a sick twisted bastard. These used to be people. People who made the mistake of trusting this shy smiling boy and got themselves infected.  
Ellie remembers how Joel stabbed the clickers on their first encounter with them in the subway. They still bled, right.  
Just as she feels Seth urging her to move forward with the barrel of his shotgun poking into her back she goes for it.  
She pulls her switchblade and sinks the knife deep into Auntie's neck. She gives it a good pull in order to widen the wound as the thick blood sprays into her face. Ellie ducks and hears Seth scream in surprise as the gush of blood hits him too. She turns, sinks the blade into his thigh and with force pushes him out of the way. She can hear his and the infected screams mingle as she runs up the stairs. She throws the door shut and locks it with a rusty metal bar she finds nearby.  
Coughing and breathlessly she stands in the back alley, leaning against the cool brick wall.  
She doesn't dare go back into the cafe now. Not with the rat there. Not without a gun.

For a while she just wanders around the square, slowly losing all hope Joel will still show up to get her. He might be lying dead somewhere, a bloody mess where his face has been. She shakes her head, trying to shake off the thought with the motion.  
Just then she hears a gunshot. For a second she considers if it's Seth who's managed to free himself. But that can't be. He's either dead or so badly injured that he'll be in that stinking cellar until he turns into one of those things.  
It sounded more like a handgun, one like Joel uses. A stupid flicker of hope. Ellie hides behind one of the oversized flowerpots and waits. A dark figure emerges from one of the stores broken windows. It's a man in a green plaid shirt. She would like to deny it but the sight of the gray hair and filthy shirt she's come to recognize anywhere in these past days has her heart skipping a beat. She calls out to him, still hiding, in order not to startle him too much.  
Ellie sees his head turn. "Ellie, where are you?" She gets up from behind the flowerpot and runs up to him. "I'm here." She can't help but smile a little.  
Joel's face falls. "What happened to you, are you hurt?" He catches her face in his rough hands.  
Confused, Ellie frees herself of the oddly intimate gesture. "No, I'm fine, I just ran into some weird dude, who-..." she sees the bits of crusted blood on Joel's hands. "Don't touch that, that's clicker blood!" "What?" Joel asks, perplexed as he automatically wipes his hands off the back of his jeans.  
Ellie gets to her knees and opens her backpack, getting out the disinfectant and a rag. She drips some of the liquid onto the fabric and cleans her face, but not before she has made Joel disinfect his hands.  
"It's a pretty messed up story." She simply says.  
Joel shoots her a look that almost makes him look like he's genuinely worried about her.  
"I'll tell you about it, later. Shouldn't we get going?", she urges. She really needs to leave this place.  
"Yeah", Joel says and points into a direction. "This way. C'mon."

As they walk through the deserted streets Ellie remembers something. "What where you shooting at just before you found me?" "Some creepy rat, it looked all messed up like it was infected. It was rabid. Never seen anything like it before... had to waste a bullet on it."  
The girl let's out a relieved sigh. "Glad you got it before it got you."  
"Very funny", Joel says testily.  
"I wasn't j-" Ellie begins to defend herself. Then she thinks better of it and simply says. "Thanks for coming back for me."  
Joel doesn't look at her now, in fact it seems like he is avoiding her gaze. "No big deal. We're gonna finish this job together now."  
"Okay", she says as she looks up into the blue afternoon sky.


End file.
